8 Emmerdale Spoilers for Next Week – 23rd to 26th March

Next week on Emmerdale, Cain opens up to Charity, Kim’s latest recruit riles Graham, the Dingles plan a daring heist, and Tracy plans to leave the village.

Note: Emmerdale will not be airing on Friday 27th March.

1) Cain struggles to accept help

This week has marked a new beginning for the Dingles at Wishing Well Cottage, but it’s come at a huge cost amidst the toughest challenges that Cain (Jeff Hordley) has ever had to face.

Already dealing with his prostate cancer diagnosis, Cain has seen his wife Moira (Natalie J Robb) imprisoned, before she reluctantly sold their share in their beloved Butlers Farm to the Tates.

Alongside young sons Kyle (Huey Quinn) and Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir), Cain has now moved in with Sam (James Hooton), Lydia (Karen Blick) and Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) at Wishing Well Cottage.

Meanwhile, Robert (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron (Danny Miller) have been appointed as new tenant farmers at Butlers.

The pair took the opportunity to rename it ‘Emmerdale Farm’, bringing back the Sugdens’ historic legacy to the village after nearly 25 years.

Determined to rebuild what they’d lost for Moira’s sake, with some spare cash from the sale after clearing debts, Cain set about searching for any nearby land they could rent to build up a new farm.

Sam and Lydia were immediately on board, and as Robert and Aaron were christening the new ‘Emmerdale Farm’, Sam was officially unveiling the new ‘Dingle Farm’.

Next week, the reality of everything Cain is facing begins to catch up with him.

Returning from a pre-op appointment at the hospital, Cain keeps his cards close to his chest as he tries to process what lies ahead, putting aside a leaflet for a prostate cancer support group.

Trying to push it to the back of his mind, Cain continues to throw himself into setting up Dingle Farm—determined to keep moving forward for Moira and the family.

However, it’s clear he’s struggling without his wife’s support.

“I think she’s his rock and, like in any strong relationship, he’ll always turn to her more than anybody else, to speak to and confide in,” Jeff Hordley recently told EverySoap and other press. “There’s only a handful of other people that he would confide in, so he’s missing his wing woman, as it were.”

When Sarah sees the leaflet and urges him to attend a prostate cancer support group, for Moira’s sake, Cain reluctantly agrees.

But on arrival, despite being reassured by the group’s coordinator, he’s unable to bring himself to go inside, instead lingering in the corridor where he ends up speaking to another attendee.

As the conversation turns to the impact the illness has had on the man’s relationship with his wife, it strikes a nerve for Cain—who abruptly walks away.

2) Joe tightens his grip on Robert and Aaron

Up at Emmerdale Farm, having already blackmailed Robert and Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) into selling their share of the property earlier this year, Joe (Ned Porteous) returns to form as he drops by the house with another ultimatum. 

Robert and Aaron are furious when Joe announces that he is selling their cattle, smugly pointing out that the herd was not actually included in their lease.

With Joe still holding the secret about Victoria killing John (Oliver Farnworth) over Robert’s head, Robert has little choice but to back down, despite it putting their new venture into jeopardy.

Although they’ve remained working at Emmerdale Farm, Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) and Matty (Ash Palmisciano) secretly turn their allegiance to the Dingles, keeping Cain updated on developments including the news that Joe is selling off the cattle herd.

3) Cain lashes out as Dingle Farm faces setbacks

Turning his attention to Dingle Farm, Mack has been tasked with sourcing their own cattle herd—but prices prove far higher than expected, disappointing Cain as he realises they can’t afford it.

“He’s most definitely throwing himself into all of this as a distraction from his own worries,” Jeff continues. “If he thinks about Moira and puts the kids first, then he can shelve his woes and his thoughts so that the cancer doesn’t consume him.”

Already under pressure, it doesn’t take much for tensions to spill over.

When Sam comes into The Woolpack and reveals he forgot about a meeting regarding some farm machinery, Cain snaps and squares up to him.

Feeling defeated, Cain declares that the farm dream is over, before storming out.

Concerned by his reaction, Charity (Emma Atkins) follows Cain back to Wishing Well where she finds him drinking heavily. 

Horrified, Charity’s determined to find out what’s really going on…

4) Charity tries to get through to Cain

The scene continues into Wednesday, which sees a special two-hander episode between Cain and Charity.

As Charity watches him knocking back whiskey, she urges Cain to start looking after himself—but Cain reacts angrily, lashing out again and accidentally smashing late father Zak’s (Steve Halliwell) tankard.

“The focus on the tankard makes them think and talk about Zak,” Jeff reveals.

With emotions running high, Charity refuses to let him shut her out. As she pushes him to be honest, Cain finally admits that he’s struggling to hold everything together.

“It was a lot of fun to do, and they’ve written this episode with those two characters and their history in mind,” Jeff tells us.

“There’s a lot of twists and turns in the episode, but ultimately Charity’s there for Cain and he’s there for her as well.”

“We had Ian Bevitt, who’s a really lovely director and keeps things happy, and it was beautifully written by Adam Sales. It was a really lovely episode.”

As they reflect on their past relationship, Cain attempts to shift the moment—making a move on Charity in a bid to escape the reality of what he’s facing. But Charity quickly sees through it, recognising it for what it is.

Will Charity be able to get through to Cain before he falls apart completely?

5) Will the Dingles pull off a dramatic heist?

That night, under the cover of darkness, a hooded figure breaks into Emmerdale Farm.

The following morning, in another standout episode, it’s udder chaos when Matty comes in from the field in a panic, reporting that the cattle have gone missing.

When Joe hears the news, he is quick to point the finger at Robert, convinced he’s retaliating after the news of the impending sale. But as Robert denies any involvement, Joe and Graham (Andrew Scarborough) head out to track down the culprit themselves.

They head straight over to Wishing Well to confront their number one suspects, the Dingles, but they smugly deny having anything to do with it.

Out on a country road, the truth is finally revealed—the rustler is none other than Belle, who soon finds that she could be in over her head.

When Cain calls to warn her that a tracker has been left on the bull, and that Joe is in pursuit, the pressure ramps up.

With Joe closing in as he follows the signal, Belle is forced to think fast—but just as he appears to be catching up, Joe is thrown off course by a Dingle decoy…

6) Are Kim and Chas about to become besties?

Whilst all this is going down, the morning takes an unexpected turn when Chas (Lucy Pargeter) and Kim (Claire King) end up having a drinking session together in The Woolpack.

It’s a surprising development, given the pair were at loggerheads this week, with Chas confronting Kim over what she saw as the Tates’ relentless campaign against the Dingles.

The conversation seems to offer a rare moment of common ground, perhaps even the beginnings of a bond between the pair.

But is there more to it that meets the eye?

7) Kim brings in some muscle to tackle Graham

Meanwhile, back at Home Farm, with it becoming all too clear that Graham is attempting to turn Joe against her, Kim decides to take action.

Knowing she can no longer trust her former husband, she brings Ross (Michael Parr) on board as her new “Director of Operations” (i.e. security)—a move designed to reinforce her position in the household.

Needless to say, the appointment quickly causes friction as Ross proceeds to wind up both Graham and Joe.

Graham warns Ross to keep his distance from Dawn (Olivia Bromley), but Ross isn’t intimidated—relishing his new role as Kim’s “extra muscle” and reminding Graham that he only takes orders from her.

Despite everything that’s gone down, with the disastrous fallout after Kim and Graham slept together, Dawn later asks Kim whether she actually still has feelings for Graham.

How will Kim respond?

8) Vanessa’s blindsided by Tracy’s shock decision

Elsewhere in the village, Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) is stunned when she discovers that sister Tracy (Amy Walsh) has been keeping a big secret from her.

Recent episodes have seen Tracy making mysterious phone calls, and the reason is soon discovered when Vanessa learns that Tracy is planning on leaving the village.

As Vanessa confronts her sister about the move, Tracy feels guilty as she admits she needs a change of scenery, following a traumatic year which saw husband Nate’s (Jurell Carter) body found in a local lake, having been killed by John several months earlier.

With a job offer lined up, Tracy’s all set to make a fresh start—at least for a while, with actor Amy Walsh set to head off on maternity leave very soon.

How will Vanessa react?

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